Thursday, August 26, 2010

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CITY COUNCIL MEETING7:30 PM______________________________________________________________________________________

1. OPENING PRAYER

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

3. CALL TO ORDER

4. LATE FILE ITEMS

5. PUBLIC COMMENT

CONSENT AGENDANOTE: ALL ITEMS LISTED UNDER CONSENT AGENDA WILL BE ENACTED BY ONE MOTION. THERE WILL BE NO SEPARATE DISCUSSION OF THESE ITEMS. IF DISCUSSION IS DESIRED, THAT ITEM WILL BE REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND CONSIDERED SEPARATELY.APPROVAL OF MINUTES August 9, 2010 (Approve)

Over the last several months, I've worked with City Departments on the following neighborhood issues:

Street Repaving: because of limited funding, the City is able to repave only a limited number of streets. In our Ward, Tyng (between High and Munroe) and North Atkinson (closer to High Street) are being repaved this summer. I advocated for others. I receive a lot of communication from constituents about their streets, so please continue to provide me with your input, so that I can work with the Mayor and the Highway Dept. I've heard from people about Arlington, Ashland, Jefferson and others so please keep communicating. The street paving list is updated every year, so the input is helpful.

Potholes: The Highway Dept is usually quite effective in doing these short term repairs. In fact, quite often, I will contact them about a pothole and find they've filled it the day before. However, because of utility trench work and the fact that we don't repave as much as we ought to, there are a lot of potholes and cracks. Over the last several months, I've contacted the Highway Dept to fill potholes on:

Merrimac St

High Street

Jackson Street

Collins Street

Jefferson Street

Ashland Street

North Atkinson Street (I'm very pleased that a sunken manhole cover at Simmons Drive is being repaired)

Dexter Street

Street Signs: The City has ordered these signs which are missing. I've noticed a few (Pleasant, Lafayette) which look like someone's tried to twist them off. Quite irritating...and costly to the City. The City attempts to make these very secure, but signs keep getting taken.

Munroe Street (at corner of Oakland)

Tracy Street (at intersection with Columbus)

Jackson Street (at corner of Oakland)

Walnut Street (at corner of Oakland)

Carter Street (at corner of Merrimac)

California Street (at corner of Merrimac)

Savory Street

According to Tony Furnari of DPS, the signs which were ordered awhile ago have been received and we should start seeing them in the next few days.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

The official minutes will be approved at the next City Council meeting, but here are some quick updates from last night in roughly chronological order.

"Green Initiatives" TransferThe Council agreed to transfer $2,500 from the Green Initiatives Special Revenue fund to complete a survey of Newburyport street lights. The City currently does not have accurate mapping of street light locations. National Grid can provide a list of street lights based on pole numbers; the City Planning Departments most recent list is from 1997. The transfer will be used to create an editable database and map with each light's GIS position. The money is coming from a $400,000 rebate from the Nock solar energy project, a fund which is to be used for 'green initiatives'.The Council approved the transfer by a 6-5 vote. I voted to approve the transfer. Before we continue to talk about turning off streetlights or installing more efficient lighting, we need accurate information.

Clearwell TransferThe Council approved by a 11-0 vote to transfer $50,000 for emergency repairs to the water treatment plant 'clearwell'. The clearwell is a critical part of our drinking water system. The transfer will enable the City to hire divers to enter the clearwell and repair cracks which have been discovered in recent months. Failure to make these emergency repairs could disrupt the City's water supply. The funds are being temporarily transferred within the Water Enterprise Fund from a line item to eventually repaint the Rawson Hill water tank near Anna Jaques Hospital. When the Water Enterprise Fund final FY 10 balance is certified in the Fall, the $50,000 will be transferred back to the painting project.The Rawson Hill water tank painting project is tentatively planned for 2011 and will be done in such a way as to mitigate any impacts to the neighborhood and hospital.

Sewer and Water Bond OrdersThe Councill agreed 11-0 and 11-0 to set in motion orders to finance $500,000 for improvements to the City's Crow Lane Sewer Pump Station and $18,750,000 for making major improvements to the City's water system, which is in major need of upgrade (see comments on clearwell above).These matters have been referred jointly to the Council's Public Utilities and Budget & Finance Committees. A meeting has been set for Thursday, August 12 at 7PM at City Hall.

Disposal of Animal WasteThe Council voted to approve an increase for fines for failure to remove and dispose animal waste by the owners of their animals. The fine currently is $10 for first offense and $20 for subsequent offenses. The increase will be to $50 for first offense, $75 for second offense, and $100 for third and subsequent offenses. The Council also voted to remove language which made it illegal to dispose animal waste in municipal receptacles.

The current language is:

Sec. 3-2. Disposal of animal waste.

All persons owning or in custody of an animal will be responsible for the removal and disposal of that animal's waste which may not be placed in any receptacle owned by the city or in privately owned receptacles other than the owners. The fine for violation of this provision for the first offense shall be ten dollars ($10.00) and the second and subsequent offenses shall be twenty dollars ($20.00).

(Ord. of 11-14-84)

The new language will be:

Sec. 3-2. Disposal of animal waste.

All persons owning or in custody of an animal will be responsible for the removal and disposal of that animal's waste. The fine for violation of this provision for the first offense shall be fifty dollars ($50.00), the second offense shall be seventy-five dollars ($75.00) and subsequent offenses shall be one hundred dollars ($100.00).

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Lexington’s streetlights are slated for energy-efficient upgrades this fall, as the Board of Selectmen approved $930,500 for the town-wide conversion at their Monday meeting.

According to William Hadley, the director of public works, installing more energy efficient bulbs and fixtures for the town’s 3,400 streetlights will save Lexington almost $190,000 a year, offsetting the cost of the project in 3.6 years.

The town will also receive $237,724 from energy company NStar for replacing the old incandescent lights with the more efficient lights by November 30.

About 700 streetlights have already been fitted with compact florescent light bulbs, the bulb recommended by the Department of Public Works and the Electric Utility Committee. Paul Chernick represented the Committee at the meeting.

With the change, Hadley said, the streetlights’ energy use would shrink by an estimated 1.3 million kilowatt-hours each year, from 1,989,243 to 668,556.

“Energy efficiency is something that is a goal for the community,” said Selectman Deborah Mauger.

The initiative will also help the town meet their Community Energy Reduction Plan, which was established by the Selectmen.The plan calls for reducing the total town government energy use by 20 percent over five years.

Rob Addelson, the town’s finance manager, said the project would be funded by a third party lease financial agreement, costing the town about $100,000 for the current fiscal year.

After a nearly hour-long discussion about the switch, selectman Peter Kelley said he “didn’t feel comfortable with voting on this tonight,” considering the nearly million dollar initial cost and the “gray areas” involved.

The selectmen eventually agreed to the proposal, with a 4-0 vote and Kelley abstaining.The agreement to proceed came with the condition that the selectmen would monitor the process and discuss it at their next meeting, August 30.